With one second left to play in the second overtime period, Arturo Pulido converted on a free kick from 22-yards out to lift the Warriors in a dramatic 1-0 victory at Cal State East Bay.
Cal State Stanislaus fired a season-high 42 shots at the Pioneers but could not find the back of the net until the final chance that allowed the Warriors to improve to 7-3-3 overall and 6-3-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association North Division.
With 20 points in the standings, the Warriors are back in second place in the North, one point behind leader Chico State, which lost at UC San Diego Friday night. Sonoma State is in third with 19 points with five regular season matches remaining.
"I am really proud of the way the guys finished the game today. We had the same situation at Sonoma State last week and our guys stayed poised and came back," CSUS head coach Dana Taylor said.
Friday night at Pioneer Stadium, the Warriors took control early and never let up offensively. Stanislaus recorded 14 shots in the first half and outshot CSUEB 21-4 in the second half. By the end of regulation the Warriors had out-shot the Pioneers 35-6.
However, of the first 16 Warrior shots on goal, none of them cross the line past the East Bay goalkeeper Bryce Boookhamer who recorded 16 saves.
The Warriors continued the attack in the extra period with a 7-1 advantage in the two extra periods but came up empty until the game-winner.
With time running out, a foul was called on Cal State East Bay and the officials put one second back on the clock to allow the Warriors to take the free kick. Pulido deposited the shot in the upper half from 22 yards out for the dramatic victory.
In the end, the Warriors recorded 17 shots on goal to CSUEB's three and held a 17-5 corner kick advantage.
The Warriors will travel to Sunday's match at UC San Diego.
Karenee Demery scored twice for Cal State Stanislaus but the Warriors dropped to 9-3-1 overall and 7-3-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. San Francisco State, which beat Cal State Monterey Bay 3-1 earlier on the day, took over first place by a point in the North Division standings.
Cal State East Bay improved to 6-6-2 overall and 4-6-1 in CCAA play after Shianna Falk scored the game's equalizer and the golden goal in overtime.
Demery put the Warriors on the board first in the 10th minute mark when Briana McClain sent a cross into the box for the freshman to finish her 13th goal of the season.
"Offensively, this was one of our best games of the year. We did a lot of things in the attacking third that we have been emphasizing all year," CSUS head coach Gabriel Bolton said. "We were a bit unlucky not to score a few more times in the second half."
The score would hold up until the second half. East Bay tied the game in the 55th minute when Michelle Quintero got by the defense and lobbed a shot over Stanislaus goalkeeper Millie Brown.
Demery scored her 14th goal of the season at 62:20 to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead on an one-on-one breakaway against Pioneer goalie Nina Cefalo.
Falk, however, scored her first of two goals on the night to lift her team. Her first goal came at 68:14 on a header off of a Gail Bassett free kick. Falk then scored the winner at 94:46 to end the match.
"You have to give East Bay a lot of credit. Every time we had them down they battled back," Bolton added. "I expect we will display more of a killer instinct the next time we have a team in a similar position."
Cal State East Bay out-shot Stanislaus 20-12 with a 12-6 shots on goal advantage. Brown had nine saves in goal for the Warriors.
Cal State Stanislaus will travel to La Jolla for a Sunday match at UC San Diego.
